How far down can i go with 38 inch TSL's on 16.5 rims safely? No beadlocks

 

not very far... the 16.5s don't have a safty bead like the 16s, 15s, and others... i have not run 16.5s offroad. but i wouldn't go lower than 25 psi.

EDIT: but on a side note.. you could take the tires off the wheels and run a bead of weld all the way around the wheel to make a safty bead... it would be about 3/4 of a inch from the inside of the lip that the bead on the tire meats the wheel.. i have seen that done on race car wheels has a cheap way to keep the tires on... but if you make the bead of weld to thick it will make it hard to get the beads to "break" when you want to take the tires off the wheel.

 

On one of my trucks I run street tires (still boggers) and they are 16.5's. When I am too lazy to bolt up my beadlocks, I air these down to 10 psi. Yup, 10 psi. I have run these as low as 6 psi without loosing a bead. Yes, I have lost them, and yes I can actually kick a tire off of the bead, but they stay on rather well.
Be carefull with side loads like off camber hills, or vehicle recoveries that are not dead straight and you can make them survive.

16.5's are terrible, dont get me wrong, there is nothing good about them. Not bagging on your tires, but get a decent set the next time around. In fact, if they are still in decent shape, sell them and minimize your loss.

 

I air down to 15 psi with out trouble but that on my excursion, as heavey as it is thats about as low as ive needed to go. I second not liken 16.5's in my opinion there day has come and gone. I simply have them because when i did my truck that was what i had avalible at the time.